


Miscommunication

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Alternate Universe, Children, F/M, Family, Hurt/Comfort, Post Bartlett Administration
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-08-24
Updated: 2008-08-24
Packaged: 2019-05-30 11:41:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15095984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: Abbey and Noah's first big fight.





	Miscommunication

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

"Danny…" CJ folds the Times down and peers at her husband from  
beneath her reading glasses. "Danny?" When Danny continues to  
concentrate intently on the Times crossword puzzle in his hands, CJ  
huffs aloud. " Oh for God's sake Danny! You're as bad as Leo McGarry  
was with your stupid crosswords."

Danny, sitting on the arm chair adjacent to the couch CJ is on,  
glances up over the newspaper and offers his wife a wry smile beneath  
his glasses. " Did you want something, dear?"

"Call your son," CJ advises in an instructive tone.

"Why don't you call him?" Danny asks. CJ is typically the one who  
calls PJ two or three times a week. Usually the young man calls his  
mom in the middle of the week with a pressing question (" What  
temperature should I preheat the oven to for shepard's pie? How long  
before eggs expire? ) All in all, however, the twenty-four year old  
has managed well the last year living without his parents.

"He's got that pre-interview thing with the guy from `Voices of  
the Hill' paper tomorrow. You should call and wish him `good luck' and  
give him some last minute advice." CJ places the paper neatly on the  
coffee table and downs her last couple sips of tea.

Danny sighs and frowns. "He doesn't want my help. I couldn't help  
him get his previous jobs. He's trying to do this on his own. Face  
it, CJ, we raised independent kids. Should have locked them in the  
dungeon while we had the chance," grumbles Danny bitterly.

CJ rolls her eyes. " We didn't have a dungeon, you moron. We  
didn't even have a basement in Santa Monica." CJ chuckles lightly and  
retrieves the phone off the receiver and hands it to Danny. " Call  
him. Just talk to him man-to-man. You don't need to be condescending  
or patronizing. Just do it. This is important. He could get a job in  
Washington then we'd have both our kids nearby. How great would that be?"

"Fine," Danny finally accepts the phone, hoping his son will  
appreciate his advice and not take offense and think that he has no  
confidence in the boy's ability. CJ's been over the moon since  
finding out that PJ could be working in D.C. in a month or six weeks.  
But Danny doesn't have time to dial before the doorbell alerts them  
that they have a late visitor.

CJ and Danny both rush to the foyer to open the door to a sopping  
wet Abbey clutching a shivering Jordan in the middle of a stormy  
night. An Indian man stands behind them holding Jordan's car seat, a  
duffle bag and a backpack.

"Honey, what are you doing here?" Danny looks beyond the front  
porch steps to the cab parked in the driveway.

Frazzled, Abbey shakes her wet head to and fro." I need to stay  
here. Can you pay the driver please? I only have five dollars cash on  
me."

CJ takes Jordan from Abbey's arms and ushers her daughter inside  
while Danny retrieves his wallet from his back pocket and pays the  
driver his fare and tip.

"What's wrong?" CJ inquires as she leads Abbey into the den. She  
removes Jordan's jacket and shoes while Abbey strips off her own coat.

"Noah and I are in a huge fight. I can't even stand to look at  
him right now. I'm gonna put Jordan down in the nursery here. She had  
her milk at home so she's ready for bed." Abbey runs a trembling hand  
through her messy main of soggy curls. "Okay, sweetie, say `good  
night' to Nana and Papa. It's bedtime."

Danny plants a kiss to the nine month-old girl's head before CJ  
scoops her up and follows Abbey down the hall to Jordan's room.

After about two minutes, the women reenter the den, Abbey only  
slightly calmer.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to make a big scene in front of Jordan.  
I don't want to upset her more. It's bad enough me storming off and  
grabbing her right before bed and bringing her here." Abbey collapses  
onto the couch.

Putting an arm around her daughter, CJ adopts her most soothing  
voice. "It's all right. First of all, does Noah know you're here?"

"Yeah. I screamed that I was coming here as I packed our bags.  
He didn't want me to leave."

"Call him now and tell him you arrived safely." At Abbey's look  
of protest, CJ shakes her head firmly. " No! I want to hear all about  
it after you change into something dry and call your husband. I know  
you're pissed but there's no need for him to worry even more about you  
and Jordan. Go call him. I'll put on some tea and we can sort this  
all out."

With an eye roll, Abbey picks up the phone and makes a hasty call  
to let Noah know she and Jordan had made it to her parents. No, she  
didn't want to discuss it further and she didn't know when she'd be  
home. Right now she needed space and to not be around him.

Danny pulls his grown daughter into a hug. " That damn idiot. I  
told him to never hurt you or I'd unleash all the force of a father's  
wrath. I'm gonna go over there and ring his neck."

Entering the den once again, CJ clips Danny on the back of the  
head. " Shut up. You love that idiot, and so does Abbey. Let's all  
just sit and discuss this like adults. Now, I'm gonna go pour the tea.  
Honey, are you hungry? I've got leftover fish or I can make you  
something else?"

Abbey has to smile faintly at her mother's instinct to take care  
of her. She can recognize that now, being a mother herself. " No, Mom.  
I can't eat now."

"Okay. But let me know if you change your mind," CJ turns on her  
heel and heads back to the kitchen.

Danny ushers Abbey over to the couch and takes her hand in his. "  
If you want, I can go over there and kick his ass?"

This time, Abbey actually giggles. " I'm sorry, Daddy, but I  
think Noah could take you. "

Danny concedes with a nod. "Seriously, though, Abbey, if he hurt  
you…"

"No, Daddy. Noah could never so much as scratch me. I mean, come  
on. " Abbey looks up as CJ emerges with a tray of three cups of herbal  
tea.

"Then what happened, sweetheart? Danny asks.

CJ passes out the mugs and takes a seat on the couch on the other  
side of Abbey.

Sighing, Abbey collects herself. " Noah got a new job."

"So? Is it better? Is the pay more?" Danny presses.

"Well, yes, but…" Abbey begins, only to be interrupted by her  
father again.

"Then why is it a problem?" Danny can't understand why Noah's job  
would have Abbey so upset.

"Danny, let her talk," CJ interjects. " Tell us about the job."

"Well you know he's been doing a lot of consulting on the Hill?  
Well, he's become pretty close with Congressman Mckinnon. And I guess  
the congressman was impressed with Noah's work on the Appropriations  
bill before the recess and his current work on the foreign aid  
package. McKinnon wants him to take over as his deputy chief of staff  
when his second top advisor retires next month. " Abbey sips her tea  
and attempts to calm herself inside. She's still fuming at Noah and  
her insides feel like they're twisted in twenty different directions.

CJ quickly processes the new information. "Okay, well everything  
sounds good so far. So Noah talked to you about taking this new job?"

Abbey puts her mug down and almost shouts. "No! He accepted  
McKinnon's offer without even so much as talking with me about it  
first! He went and made a huge change in his career without  
consulting me first. Isn't this the kinda thing your supposed to talk  
to you wife about first? We talk through everything. We've always been  
pretty good at communicating. I wouldn't go and change jobs without  
wanting to know how he felt about it. Is my anger completely unwarranted?"

"Not at all," CJ tells her daughter, stealing a glance at Danny.  
There was a time when they were dealing with how much influence they  
should have in each other's careers, how they should go about  
communicating the changes a new job would mean for their relationship.  
" Is that all?"

"No," Abbey admits solemnly with trembling lips. " I think Noah's  
cheating on me!"

"What?" CJ and Danny both practically scream in response.

"Abbey, you can't be serious. Noah could never do that to you."  
CJ is confident in her son-in-law's fidelity. Abbey is the only woman  
he's ever loved and she and their baby make up his world.

Sobbing and ringing her hands together, Abbey drops her head.  
"That's what he said. He said I should know him better than that  
after all these years. But I just got so mad and scared and sad that I  
had to leave. I don't know how I can recover if he breaks my heart.  
His love has been one dependent variable in my life that I assumed I  
would always have."

CJ and Danny both wrap a comforting arm around their visibly  
shaken daughter.

"Honey, what would make you think he's having an affair?" CJ  
inquires, still not convinced that Noah did anything wrong. She just  
knows their love is stronger than that.

"He's been working late at the office," Abbey offers simply.

"He's always worked late at the White House. Next," CJ has to  
avoid rolling he eyes.

But Abbey still has concerns." He sometimes doesn't get home til  
three in the morning. He's even gotten calls in the middle of the  
night and had to leave. And he's got this really trampy new  
`co-worker', Rebecca, who constantly calls his Treo. She's blonde and  
big-boobed and ever since she came to work in the Legislative  
department, he's been working weekends and spending more time at work.  
Sometimes he comes home all disheveled and missing ties and belts and  
stuff. And we haven't had sex in a month!"

Danny chuckles lightly " I'm sorry, honey, but that doesn't  
sound like an affair. That sounds like a typical marriage. The reason  
you haven't had sex in a month is probably because you've been married  
over a year and you have a baby. And Noah's probably been spending  
more time at work because he's got several important bills coming up  
to vote soon."

"But what about the clothes?" Abbey wonders aloud.

CJ runs a hand up Abbey's arm." Honey, when I worked at the White  
House late at night, I practically had a second family. I was so  
comfortable with my colleagues that we didn't hesitate to remove our  
jackets or ties when the formal work day was over. Noah's probably  
just well acquainted with his colleagues and wants to be comfortable  
when he knows he'll be there a while. Have you talked to him about all  
this, and especially this Rebecca girl?"

Deflated, Abbey nods. "Yeah. I questioned him tonight. But he  
just flipped and said I was being irrational. He says she's just a  
co-worker and `friend'. That when he said I should know him better and  
I stormed off. It's just that he's not used to being surrounded by  
smart, pretty blondes fifteen or sixteen hours a day."

CJ cracks a grin "Sorry to break this to you, sweetheart, but  
Noah did spend seven years in college. You don't think there were  
smart, pretty women all around him then?"

 

"Yeah, but I had to learn to trust him when we were apart. Plus,  
Noah's a terrible flirt so I didn't really worry about him picking up  
girls at bars or anything." She can't help but smile lightly,  
remembering those first few years of their relationship and Noah's  
teenage awkwardness with her. Back then, she really had no need to  
worry about him.

"And nothing's changed. You still need to trust him and he's  
probably no more of a ladies' man than he was back then." CJ attempts  
to reassure her daughter that Noah isn't unfaithful.

"But he has changed! He's not that nerdy, awkward teenager  
anymore. He's an incredibly good-looking, intelligent and charming  
man who's got an ego three times too big for his head! He could have  
any woman he wants." Abbey is nearly hysterical.

Danny squeezes Abbey's hand and offers her a serious, confident  
look."But there's only two that he does want: You and Jordan. And  
trust me when I say that a wife and daughter is more than enough for  
one man. You may think he could find someone else, but he'd never  
want to. He chose you because he loves you endlessly and  
unconditionally."

Abbey silently ponders this just as there is a loud knock at the  
front door.

"I'll get it," Danny responds, walking into the foyer and opening  
the door to his son-in-law.

Noah sighs deeply and wipes rain off his face. He's disheveled,  
exhausted and desperate-looking. " I…I really need to see Abbey."

Danny's eyes narrow into a cold as ice stare. " I told you.  
I told you when you were thirteen. I said if you ever hurt my daughter  
I could never forgive you. I repeated this to you on numerous  
occasions, including your wedding day. We had man-to-man,  
heart-to-heart talks. I trusted you with the most important thing in  
my life."

Noah puts a hand up firmly to stop Danny. " I swear to God Danny  
I didn't do anything wrong. I could never cheat on Abbey. I don't ever  
even want another woman. But…but I really gotta talk to her. We can't  
go to sleep angry. We've tried that a couple times before and it never  
worked out. I have to make up with Abbey."

"What are you doing here?" Abbey inquires coolly, crossing her  
arms in front of her as she enters the foyer, CJ close in toe.

"Honey," Noah leaps forward and takes Abbey's hands in his clammy  
wet ones. " I know you said you want space, I know you're angry. But I  
can't let you just walk away angry and not fix everything. I don't  
want to go to bed angry. You deserve the truth. The thing is, there  
is kinda something with Rebecca. I mean, nothing happened. But I  
think she wanted it to. I've realized now that she has been flirting  
with me since she started her job. I talked to Gord and a couple  
others from work and they said they've definitely noticed it."

Abbey's draw drops in disbelief. " Are the two of your completely  
clueless? You don't know when a woman's flirting with you? Have you  
been absent from the last twelve years of our relationship? And what,  
did she just not notice your wedding ring and the twenty photos of you  
with me and Jordan on your desk?"

Noah chances a little smirk. " Well I know how you flirt with me,  
but I haven't gotten a lot of attention from other women. I mean,  
you're my one and only girlfriend. We started dating when we thirteen.  
And as for Rebecca, let's just say I don't think anyone's who talked  
to her will be recommending her for a promotion. I think maybe she  
just didn't care that I was married. According to Sareena, she's a bit  
of a whore. I'm really sorry, baby. I should have just been honest  
with you from the beginning. I should have told you I thought she was  
flirting with me. But I had a feeling you'd be crazy jealous. But it's  
no excuse. I truly am sorry."

CJ smiles to herself, relieved the situation is cooling off.  
Danny carefully considers his son-in-law's explanation, still not  
willing to let him off the hook immediately.

Biting her lip, Abbey uncrosses her arms and looks into Noah's  
eyes, seeing her husband's raw honesty and love. She knows now that he  
isn't lying. "Okay. And, I guess I shouldn't have just jumped to  
conclusions. I know you couldn't hurt me like that."

Noah releases a huge exhale and draws Abbey into his arms,  
encircling his wife.

Abbey feels a massive weight lifting from her shoulders as she sighs  
into Noah's chest. She pulls back for a minute and reclaims Noah's  
gaze. "But you have to realize how scared I was. I thought my whole  
life was falling apart. And it really upset me when you just took a  
new job without even discussing it with me first. That's not like you,  
Noah. We have an equal partnership. We respect each other. So maybe  
our communication could use a little work. We have some tangled wires  
to sort through. So next time you have an important decision to make,  
talk to me first."

Nodding wholeheartedly, Noah agrees. "Absolutely. And next time  
you have any concerns about what's going on in my life please tell me  
before they're all blown out of proportions. If you were worried about  
Rebecca you should have just asked me what was going on."

Abbey raises a brow. "I did. You didn't take me seriously. All  
you said was she was your coworker."

"I didn't know you were serious. I didn't know you were worried  
about her. You have to let me know how you feel. I know we're usually  
in tune to each other, but I can't actually read your mind." Noah  
reaches again for Abbey's hands.

"Okay," Abbey nods. "We'll both try to communicate better."

"All right," CJ cautiously places herself into the conversation.  
"Sounds like things are falling back into place. Do you want us to go  
somewhere so you can continue talking?"

Noah glances from CJ to Abbey with a hopeful half-quirk of his  
lips. "Why don't we go and talk at home?"

Knowing the worst of their first major fight since their marriage  
is over, Abbey nods in agreement. They're married now and they can't  
run away from their problems. The only way to have a strong and  
healthy relationship is by honest relations. "I don't really want to  
wake Jordan up, though. She just fell asleep."

CJ intervenes immediately. " Don't worry about her. We'll keep  
her here tonight. You'd be dropping her off in the morning anyway. You  
should go home and be together."

"Are you sure, Mom?" Abbey inquires, her face finally relaxed.

"Go on now," CJ gestures towards the door.

"Drive safe," Danny instructs Noah. " And take care of my girl."

Noah smiles "I promise…once again."

* * *  
The End

 

 

 

 

Feedback is encouraged and appreciated


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